General Ord and Family

Date:

2010

Medium:

Acrylic on wood

Dimensions:

14 ¼ x 16 ½ x 5 inches

Credit Line:

Collection of Lysiane Luong Grooms and the artist

A few of Grooms’s paintings, such as this family scene based on a Brady photograph, remind us that war separated thousands of soldiers from their families. Edward Ord had already served 20 years in the army at the start of the Civil War. In 1865 he and his troops were critical during the final Appomattox Campaign. His wife and daughter were present to pose for Brady because the war was ending. The photographer later wrote that the house where the surrender took place had been stripped of souvenirs. Ord purchased his own memento—the table beside him, which was used by Generals Grant and Lee at their meeting that ended the war.